CodeEndo
Dr Anna Klas, School of Psychology, Deakin University
28 September 2026
About this episode
A conversation with Dr Anna Klas, Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology at Deakin University, about CodeEndo, an online supportive care program for people living with endometriosis. Anna is part of the research team, she has interviewed people who have taken part in the program, and she brings her own lived experience of endometriosis to the work. It took her almost twenty years to be diagnosed.
We talk about why endometriosis is so often dismissed as "just bad periods", how it is diagnosed in Australia, and why a program built around choice, and around believing people's pain, might sit alongside the medical care people already have.
What we talked about
- 01:34 What endometriosis is, and Anna's own road to diagnosis
- 05:41 "It's not just bad periods": the myths that keep endometriosis misunderstood
- 07:30 How diagnosis works in Australia, and why surgery is not a cure
- 10:14 What CodeEndo is, and how it is designed to complement existing care
- 14:21 Why lived experience matters on a research team
- 16:05 Nine self-paced modules, and why choice is built into the program
- 19:02 What participants have said: "we believe your pain"
- 23:17 What the research is hoping to learn
- 24:21 What Anna would change about how endometriosis is understood
The study
CodeEndo is being run by a team at Deakin University led by Professor Antonina Mikocka-Walus. The program was co-designed with people living with endometriosis and a team of more than 40 experts, and brings together modules such as endometriosis education, dietary guidance, yoga and hypnotherapy. The trial explores whether the program supports health-related quality of life for people living with endometriosis. CodeEndo is supported by the Australian Government under the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).
The official study website is always the authority on who can take part and how. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRN12623000598684p). The CodeEndo team expects recruitment to close in late October or November 2026.
Links and resources
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